What Your Workers’ Compensation Doctor Needs to Know

Providing your doctor with an accurate medical history is important for a smooth claims process and to receive effective treatment.

The workers’ compensation system offers medical and wage loss benefits to workers who become injured or ill at the workplace because of a work-related accident. However, to collect the benefits, the injured worker must show that he or she was involved in a workplace accident and that the resultant injury has caused disability. To prove this, he or she would need to seek a doctor’s opinion as well.

Providing an Accurate Medical History

To ensure that the injured worker gets the benefits he or she deserves, it is important that the injured worker provides an accurate medical history to the treating doctor. It might not be enough to simply tell the doctor that you had a fall and hurt your foot. You must clearly state that the fall occurred at work and you were injured in the foot as a result. If you fail to provide these details at the first appointment and you try to add these details later on, then everyone, including your employer, doctor, and the insurance company may view your claim with skepticism.

Our Kansas City workers’ compensation lawyer explains that an injured worker should never assume that everyone knows that the injury is work-related. Unless he or she specifies that the injury occurred at work, no one will know.

Reporting a Pre-Existing Injury

Even if you have a pre-existing injury, for example, you had suffered an injury at the workplace in the past, you should inform your doctor. This is important because the aggravation of a pre-existing injury resulting from a work-related accident may also entitle you to workers’ compensation benefits. Even if the pre-existing injury was sustained outside of the workplace, but has now been aggravated, the injured worker may still claim benefits so long as the aggravation is the prime cause of disability.

You should be prepared to undergo diagnostic tests such as an MRI or x-ray. If you deny or misstate your pre-existing injury, and it later shows up on the tests, your credibility will suffer and it may jeopardize the chances of a successful claim. On the other hand, if you provide an accurate medical history to the doctor, the doctor may be able to diagnose and treat your condition faster and better. This means you will be able to recover and get back to work faster.

Making a Workers’ Compensation Claim

So when you are making a claim under the Kansas City workers’ compensation system, you must clearly specify that the injury was sustained within the scope and course of your work. Although it will not guarantee that you will receive the workers’ compensation benefits, an accurate medical history will pave the way for a smooth claim process. It will also allow for effective treatment and a quicker recovery.

If you need assistance at any step of the claim process, get in touch with a knowledgeable Kansas City workers’ compensation lawyer. Call The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann at (816) 399-3706. We will educate you on your legal rights and help you recover your rightful benefits.